Watch the Green Grow

• Scoop the poop! Clean up after pets, even in your own yard. Pet waste left on the ground ends up in streams or storm drains when it rains. Scoop the poop and throw it in the trash. Help keep our water clean. 
• Reduce your use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer can wash into streams when it rains. They harm plants and animals and pollute our drinking water. If you must use them, follow the label directions carefully. Do not over-apply the products. 
• Grasscycle! Leave grass clippings on the ground when you mow. The cut grass will return nutrients to the soil. That reduces the need for fertilizer. 
• Reduce your lawn area, and plant native flower gardens. Lawns require mowing, watering and fertilizer. They don’t offer any wildlife value. Native plants do not need fertilizer or much watering, and they provide food for birds and butterflies. 
• Identify and remove invasive non-native plants from your yard. Invasive non-native plants do not belong in our region and do not benefit local wildlife. They spread out of control and are hard to remove from an area once established.  
• Fix bare spots in your yard to prevent erosion. Plant groundcover plants and shrubs to hold soil in place.  
• Plant native trees in your yard. Trees reduce water runoff and prevent soil erosion. Native trees are ideally suited to our local environment. They provide food and shelter to birds and other wildlife. 
• Respect property boundaries. Mowing past property lines damages the forested buffers that protect streams. Trees and other plants filter water runoff. Mowing or removing plants from the buffer increases erosion and allows pollutants to enter streams. If you live near a Resource Protection Area, protect it! 
• Dispose of yard waste properly. It goes in paper lawn bags for curbside collection. Dumping yard waste in forests is not composting. It is encroachment. Dumped yard waste smothers native plants and spreads weeds and invasive plants into forests. 
• Ask your HOA or community association to plant gardens on common land to benefit wildlife.  

• Spread the word! Tell a neighbor how they can Watch the Green Grow! 

Yard Waste/Invasive Disposal

Mow Less, Grow More brochure

Brochures About Nature and Resource Stewardship

Pesticide Use Guide

Riparian Buffers